promontory

noun

prom·​on·​to·​ry ˈprä-mən-ˌtȯr-ē 

plural promontories

1

a

: a high point of land or rock projecting into a body of water

b

: a prominent mass of land overlooking or projecting into a lowland

2

: a bodily prominence

Synonyms

• peninsula
• headland

Examples of promontory in a Sentence

stood on the windswept promontory overlooking the bay

Cape May is Delaware Bay's largest promontory.

Recent Examples on the Web

The castle sits atop a dramatic rocky promontory and makes for a spooky side trip for those visiting Bucharest (about a three-hour drive south). —Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2025

By Eren Orbey Scott Johnson was found dead at the base of North Head, a sandstone promontory in Manly, Australia, that looms two hundred feet above the craggy shore of the Tasman Sea. —The New Yorker, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025

Once settled, campers can follow the Shoreline Trail from camp to make a loop around Turtle Back Hill, a promontory that juts out into a brackish, intertidal salt marshlands. —Don Sproul, Oc Register, 9 Sep. 2025

The promontories rising on each side of the Strait of Gibraltar are known as the Pillars of Hercules. —Elizabeth Fernandez, Big Think, 4 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin promunturium, promonturium; probably akin to prominēre to jut forth — more at prominent

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for promontory

• allegory
• amatory
• auditory
• category
• clerestory
• crematory
• desultory
• dilatory
• dormitory
• excretory
• extempore
• feudatory

Kids Definition

promontory

noun

prom·​on·​to·​ry ˈpräm-ən-ˌtōr-ē 

-ˌtȯr-

plural promontories

: a high point of land sticking out into the sea

Medical Definition

promontory

noun

prom·​on·​to·​ry ˈpräm-ən-ˌtōr-ē, -ˌtȯr- 

plural promontories

: a bodily prominence: as

a

: the angle of the ventral side of the sacrum where it joins the vertebra

b

: a prominence on the inner wall of the tympanum of the ear